A Cover of Darkness
by Matthewvp
Summary: After Ganon is sealed away, a new dark force rises and conquers Hyrule Castle. Can Link, Impa, Zelda, and her maidservant Evelyn recover the Master Sword before it is too late? Or will Hyrule fall under a tyrannical rule once again? This occurs after the events of Ocarina of time, when Link stays in the adult timeline. Please leave a review whether good or bad. Updates frequently.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are owned by Nintendo. This is my first piece of fanfiction I have written, so please bear with me for spelling errors and just bad writing. I'm trying to improve my lacking writing skills, so any criticism or comments letting me know that I am doing well is greatly appreciated. Please leave reviews whether good or bad, the advice and encouragement are greatly appreciated.**

Moonlight shone into the dirty cell, illuminating a small figure in the corner. A young maiden, no more than sixteen, was sitting there, grasping her knees to chest. Her white gown was slightly torn and smudged with dirt. A small chain snaked its way across the floor shackling her leg to a metal ring fastened to the ground in the middle of the small cell. A great downpour could be seen outside through a small barred window. Occasionally, a huge bolt of lightning completely illuminated the room. The wind prevented the majority of the rain from coming through the window, but there was enough to cause a constant _drip drop_ in the opposite back corner of the cell. _How could everything have gone so wrong?_ The young maiden wondered. She had been locked up for three days. From the guard's conversations, she knew she was to be executed within a week. She screamed in frustration and punched the ground, causing blood to drip from her hand. Thoughts of her execution and the unceasing rain prevented her from falling asleep for a while, but eventually she fell into slumber, her blonde hair covering her face as her head drooped.

A large _clang_ caused the girl to leap up, wondering what was going on. A guard stood laughing in a deep voice, having just hit the bars with his sword. "Have a nice nap princess?" the guard questioned. The maiden sleepily gathered her thoughts. She stood, just looking at the guard for a second, wondering why he was serving whatever dark being had taken over the castle.

"Why are you doing this?" the maiden asked, "why are you helping that monster?" She couldn't fathom how any sane human could serve a force of darkness willingly.

The guard left out a deep chuckle and said, "because _he_ made me." The guard removed the metal gauntlet from his hand and there was nothing inside. The woman gasped, who could have the power to _make_ a soldier? And to make enough of them to take the castle? "Anyways, here's your breakfast, enjoy." The guard through a moldy loaf of bread into the cell which promptly landed in a large puddle of water that had accumulated last night. The maiden picked up the loaf of bread and saw it was green with mold. She dropped it with a distinct sound of disgust. "Food isn't good enough for you eh? The I guess you won't want this then." The guard took a small bucket of water and threw the water at the girl, soaking her from the chest down. She gasped from the chill of the water. Her throat was parched, the water she had had for the past three days was minimal. The guard dropped the bucket on the ground. The guard left the room, leaving the girl with only her thoughts for company, her wet dress clinging to her body.

She sat in the corner throughout the day thinking. No one knew who had taken over the castle, or at least no one who had escaped. She fiddled with her hair, knowing how lucky she had been that the water hadn't touched it. It was hard to tell the time, but as far as she could tell it was about noon. She had tried to sleep but the sun illuminated the room too brightly for her to fall into slumber. Then she heard a noise she hadn't expected; someone was walking towards her room, and they weren't wearing armor. She heard the _click click_ of the persons shoes. Then they entered and everything made sense at once. Agahnim walked into the room as if he were the most powerful being in the world, and without Ganondorf, he might be. "Hello, Princess Zelda. I hope the accommodations are living up to your standards," Agahnim spoke. _So, this is who took over the castle. This is the one who has kept me here_ , Zelda thought.

She gave him a cold blank stare, "Some water would be nice."

"Done," Agahnim responded. He snapped his fingers and a jug of water appeared in her cell. She looked upon it in surprise.

"Why would you do that? Aren't you here to kill me? Unseal Ganon and all that?" she asked.

"Well, my dear Zelda, it's a few more weeks before I have use for you as a sacrifice. I need to make sure you don't die before then. And unseal Ganon? I think you've gone mad. Why would I want to bring him back?"

"Isn't he your master?" Zelda asked. He laughed.

"My master? He is gone! Sealed away! He couldn't beat the fated hero. Now I am the most powerful being in Hyrule, and I _will_ succeed where he failed. Sacrificing the sages will grant me enough power to destroy that silly Master Sword that was Ganon's weakness. Say, didn't Link put it back in its pedestal?" His statement was true. Link had put the Master Sword back once Ganon was defeated. But she couldn't let him know that.

"You are sorely mistaken. Link still has the Master Sword, and you'll see it soon enough." She tried sounding confident, but it was hard with such a dry throat. She took a drink from the water.

"Silly girl, you cannot lie to me. It was a rhetorical question. I know Link doesn't have that sword anymore. He even gave up the three spiritual stones back to their respective races, sealing the door of time. It was the greatest mistake he ever made, maybe if he had it now he could defeat me before it is too late. But now he can do nothing for you Princess Zelda. You are all alone." Before Zelda could make a retort, Agahnim spoke again, "I have other important matters to attend to, including the sacrifice of the fourth sage: your friend, Nabooru." He laughed as he started walking for the door.

"No!" Zelda yelled, "keep your filthy hands off her you fiend!" But there was nothing she could do as Agahnim walked out of the door, still laughing loudly. She slumped against the wall, his last words and his laugh ringing in her head. She knew she wouldn't get much sleep that night, no matter how hard she tried. She drank some more of the water and waited till morning, finally falling asleep late in the morning. As the sun came up the guard came back and drenched her with another bucket of water. "Wake up!" he bellowed. Zelda yelled in surprise as she realized the water had gotten her hair wet.

The guard went to turn around to grab a disgusting looking tray of food, but before he could a sword flashed through the air, cutting him in half. An empty suit of armor clattered to the ground and disappeared into a cloud of dark smoke. Zelda gasped as a familiar face showed itself through the bar. "Miss me?"

 **Thank you for reading my first chapter, please write a review and I will try to respond to them in the author's notes before or after each chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda and all of its characters are owned by Nintendo, not by me. I said I would make longer chapters, but I decided that from now on I am just going to write until I get to a suspenseful stopping point. Of course, I won't write a chapter under a thousand words, but the length may vary greatly between chapters.**

"Zelda!" the girl in the cell called out.

"Maybe not that loud Evelyn, we're trying _not_ to get caught." Zelda said with a grin on her face. "I'll have you out of there in a second." Zelda sheathed her rapier and started searching the room for the keys, finding them in the drawer of a small desk. "Found them!" Zelda promptly unlocked the cell. Evelyn ran to hug the princess, but forgot about the chain and ended up falling face first in the puddle of water. "Ughhhh" she groaned as Zelda helped her up and unlocked the shackle. Evelyn and Zelda embrace in a hug, the recently freed prisoner still shivering front the drenching the guard had given her. "As much as I like reunions, we need to go," another familiar voice entered the room. Impa walked up with her sword at the ready. As Evelyn brushed her wet hair behind her head, she noticed that the blonde dye was washing out and her hair was returning to its pitch-black color.

"But, there are other prisoners here, the sages. We need to save them," Evelyn replied

"We've been found out. Link and I took out the patrol, but it's only a matter of time until more find us. We don't know where they are and we cannot risk losing Zelda and Link. I'm Sorry, but the Sages will have to wait".

"No," Evelyn said, "I cannot leave here knowing that I left them to die," Evelyn stated.

Zelda agreed saying "Impa, the sages will be able to help us. We need to rescue them."

Impa stared with cold eyes at Evelyn and said, "My job is to protect the princess. If you don't listen to me, I will carry you both over my shoulder until we are out of this castle." Both Zelda and Evelyn knew that Impa was not joking around. They had no choice but to listen when Impa got serious. Evelyn answered with silence and a stare of resentment towards Zelda's loyal bodyguard. Zelda and Evelyn stepped out of the cell. "Do you have an extra weapon?" she asked.

Impa shook her head, "No, we found nothing on our way here, and these guards leave nothing behind when defeated. Now we must hurry or we may never leave." Impa dashed out of the room with Zelda and Evelyn close behind. Evelyn smiled as they met up with Link and ran alongside him. "Well, hello there," he exclaimed, "long time no see."

"Don't act so nonchalant Link, you know you're happy to see me," Evelyn said with a laugh. "Left," Impa coldly commanded and the group took a ninety degree turn down another hallway. A call of "There they are! After them!" behind the group urged them to run faster. _I hope I haven't just gotten out of a mess to get in another_ Evelyn thought. The group ran for a while throughout the twisting hallways of the castle. Their knowledge of the castle layout was flawless, especially Impa's, who had learned all the possible shortcuts in case Zelda needed to escape. The group entered the Great Hall. It was an enormous room usually used for banquets, but the tables had been overturned and the giant chandeliers had been cut down, spreading glass all along the floor. The tile floor was cracked in some place. Evelyn let out a cry of pain as she slipped on the tile into a pile of broken glass. Her shoes had been taken and her bare feet were too smooth to run on the tile. Shouts of guards were closing in. "We don't have time for this," Impa complained and then promptly picked Evelyn up and ran with her. "You sure are clumsy today," Zelda remarked with obvious sarcasm, yet it wasn't as noticeable since she was running out of breath. Impa and Link weren't breaking a sweat, but Zelda wasn't exactly used to sprinting for miles through her castle. Impa put Evelyn down after leaving the waxed tile floors of the Great Hall. "Ugh, I feel like a child," Evelyn whispered to herself. The group sprinted along, the shouts of soldiers not far behind.

"Right," Impa stated and the group turned for what seemed like the thousandth time. Each one made a noise of surprise as they hit something not one of them had suspected. A wall as black as night stood before them. It had no markings, and it rippled from the impact of each of them colliding with it, as if the wall was made of liquid. "What sorcery is this?!" Zelda exclaimed. Link took out his sword and stabbed the wall, but all it did was create more ripples on the walls surface. "Useless," Link said, "We need to find another way." As the group turned to run down another hall, they realized that each one of their exits, even the way they had come from had been blocked by another dark wall. Like grunted in frustration and used his sword to stab at the wall again, with all his might. His thrust hit the wall and the sword's blade entered the wall. "Yes!" Evenly yelled triumphantly, but then she saw that Link's blade wasn't cutting through the wall, it was being _swallowed_. Zelda gasped as Link struggled against the wall barely pulling his sword free. He fell onto his back and gasped for breath. "Look," Impa said, "the walls are slowly closing in on us". Sure enough, each of the walls was inching its way towards the group. As each wall of darkness inched toward them, the group silently racked their brains for solutions. "We need to use Farore's Wind," Link said, more of a statement than a suggestion, "we have no other options."

"But the teleport point is set so far away from the castle Link," Zelda exclaimed, "teleporting that far could kill me!"

"Then use my power," Link said as he rolled up his sleeve to reveal the Triforce of Courage on his wrist. Zelda continued protesting, but the wall got closer and closer as the argument continued.

"We must do it," Impa said, interrupting the two, "we must take the risk. It is better than certain capture or death from these blasted walls of darkness."

Zelda sighed, "Well then, everyone join hands." Zelda rolled up her sleeve revealing the Triforce of Wisdom and held her wrist with the Triforce piece against Links. Evelyn and Impa joined hands with link and Zelda to form a square, and Zelda started the spell, "Gods, grant me your power! Farore's Wind!" Suddenly, the spell went into effect and everything went black.

 **What will happen? Frankly, I don't even know. I've been so excited to write this story, I haven't fully come up with a plot. Hopefully it doesn't turn out terribly. Please leave a review whether good or bad. I escpecially want to know whether my descriptive language is up to par. Do I need more? Less? Better wording?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda and all of its characters are owned by Nintendo, not by me. I use a flashback in this chapter, it is written in all italics. I use italics for flashbacks, thoughts, and emphasis on words, so please keep that in mind.**

* * *

"Ughhh," Evelyn groaned as she sat up. She held her head in her hands, regaining her composure. As she looked around, her eyes widened as she realized she was alone. She looked around more frantically, calling for them, "Link! Zelda! Impa! Where are you?!" She heard no response. She yelled in frustration. _Nothing ever goes right for us, nothing_ , she thought. She realized that complaining was of no use, so she started scanning her surroundings. She was in a forest filled with monstrous trees. The leaves mostly blocked the sunlight, making the forest dim even when the sun was out. She jumped as a group of crows flew out of a nearby tree, making a racket. The sun was slowly sinking in the sky and Evelyn realized that she needed to find shelter, so she set off in the direction of the setting sun, still calling for her missing friends.

After hours of walking, there was no end to the woods. The trees didn't even lessen in density. Nothing living seemed to be around. The crows were the only living thing she had seen so far, and the silence was weighing on her, sapping her energy. The sun was setting and there was almost no light left, so Evelyn decided to sleep in the roots of a large tree. Uncomfortable as it was, it

In the morning, Evelyn awoke to the sun in her face. The forest was still deathly silent. No birds sang, no animals made any sort of noise, it was as if the forest was dead. Evelyn throat was dry and parched from nearly a whole day without water. She got up and stretched, licking her chapped lips to wet them. The forest was still dark and daunting. _I must keep moving. There must be something out here,_ she thought. She located the rising sun and set out in the opposite direction. After about 6 hours of walking, she sat down in the roots of a large tree, panting from exertion. The hem of her dress was torn to shreds and fallen leaves in her hair. She rested for a while. Her lips had cracked, leaving bloody cuts on them. _I need to find water soon_ , was her only thought. She wearily stood up and looked at the tree. Her jaw dropped as she realized it, and she blinked a few times to make sure, but there was no mistaking it. This tree was the exact tree she had slept under. "But how," she said hoarsely, "how can this be?" Then a realization hit her like a brick. Link had told her stories of the Lost Woods, and the only way he had navigated them was being led by Saria's music. Evelyn fell backwards in defeat. How was she ever going to leave? There was nothing to help her navigateAll her motivation and energy left her. She felt as though she couldn't move another inch.

Just then a small, nearly imperceptible noise reached her ears, the sound of a flute. Evelyn quickly sat up and scanned the surroundings for the source of the noise. It seemed to be getting closer and closer and now she realized that it was not one flute, it was a multitude, each playing the same melody. Out of the shadows of the trees, dozens of skull kids walked out, each playing a melody on its flute. As Evelyn looked upon them she remembered the stories. Children who got lost in these woods turned into these strange creatures. _Is this what I am to become?_ she thought. The skull kids stopped, forming a circle around her. Dehydration was overcoming her and her vision began to blur as the skull kids swarmed her. She screamed, and then blacked out.

* * *

Zelda awoke to find herself in a bed. There was a tray of food and a glass of water on a nightstand next to her. She felt like her limbs were as heavy as lead. _That teleport must have taken a lot out of me_ , she thought. She sat up, looking around the room and yelped when she saw a cow sitting there. "What in the world is a cow doing here?!" she yelled. Then she realized that this was Link's house in Kokiri forest. She remembered that he had showed her around and said that the cow came from Lon Lon Ranch. She stood up as Link and Impa burst through the door. "Are you all right Zelda?" both of them asked simultaneously.

"I'm fine, sorry for yelling. Your cow just surprised me. Definitely not what I expected to see when I woke up. Why are we here, and not in Death Mountain? That's where we were supposed to teleport," Zelda spoke calmly.

Link spoke up, "We haven't been able to figure that out. We were hoping you knew. The only reason we can think of is that you used my energy and this is my home. At least we ended up here and not in the Gerudo Desert."

"Agreed," Zelda spoke, "now where is Evelyn? I wanted to ask her about what happened and give a good scolding." Link just stuttered out a few words, before shutting his mouth. Both he and Impa had a solemn expression on their faces. "What happened?" Zelda asked. Silence encased the room.

Impa broke it, saying, "She didn't make it your majesty. We have no idea where she is. All I can remember is that her hand slipped from mine in the middle of teleporting. She could be anywhere." Zelda buried her head in her hands and softly whispered ' _no, no, it cannot be'_ over and over. She sat back down on the bed, on the verge of tears. She bit her lip and asked, "How long was I asleep?"

"A whole day," was the response. Zelda didn't even notice who said it.

"Please. Leave me," Zelda said in a solemn voice.

Link tried to respond, to cheer her up, saying, "Zelda, we may…"

Zelda cut him off saying, "Leave, please." Impa and Link left the room, leaving Zelda with only her thoughts. Evelyn had been a homeless child whom Zelda's parents had adopted as a ward after the child saved Zelda from bandits. Zelda and Evelyn became quick friends and formed a bond stronger than steel. The two were almost literal mirrors of each other. The only difference being between Evelyn's pitch-black hair and Zelda's hair, as golden as the sun. Each would have sacrificed anything for each other. Zelda's parents largely ignored Evelyn, giving their love and approval to Zelda. Evelyn never had a chance of being a royal, she was just allowed to live in the castle. Eventually, Zelda parents made Evelyn her "personal assistant", which was a fancy name for maid. The position and treatment of the two never got between their friendship. Evelyn had provided a friendship for the young princess when no one else had, and had helped relieve some of Zelda's burdens, especially in the recent years when Zelda became Queen. Rebuilding the kingdom and losing her parents had put pressure on Zelda like never before.

After Ganon's demise, there was an inhuman amount of work to do. The castle and town had to be rebuilt, refugees had to move back, the military had to be recreated, and much more. Zelda worked unceasingly to help her kingdom, and there Evelyn worked beside her, working multiple days without rest so that Zelda could sleep. They had always worked together, they had always been a team, but now Evelyn was lost somewhere else, and Zelda could only hope she was alive. It felt as if a piece of her was missing. Just like after she escaped the castle due to Evelyn's sacrifice.

Zelda recalled her narrow escape from Ganon, and now her narrow escape from Agahnim. The only reason she hadn't been captured this time was Evelyn. Flashbacks started swimming through her head, both of what she knew and what Link and Impa had told her. _Zelda was discussing the military with Link in her bedchamber. Zelda sat on the side of her bed. The wind from the open window often blew the tied up satin shade on her bed in front of her face. She was wearing a simple white gown that was a little long for her and blue high heels. Zelda was in the middle of a sentence when Evelyn ran into the room panting and holding a simple maid's uniform similar to what she was already wearing. Her eyes looked like she had just seen a ghost. "What's going on Evelyn? Is everything all right?" Zelda questioned._

" _No, nothing is all right. The guards…" She stopped to catch her breath. "The guards are all dead." Zelda's face couldn't decide whether to be horrified or incredulous. ALL the guards? Impossible._

" _Wha… How…" Zelda stuttered._

" _I don't have time to explain," Evelyn stated flatly. Throwing the maid's uniform to Zelda she said, "Put it on. Link, go find Impa. Once you have changed Zelda, give me your dress so I can put it on."_

 _When Zelda came out of the bathroom, she saw Evelyn looking through her set of hair dyes for disguising herself. Evelyn had already dyed her hair the exact color of Zelda's. "Hey, don't use those!" Zelda said a little loudly. "You are not even using it right. You need to wet your hair first. The way you did it, it will just wash out when it touches water."_

" _Well, crap," Evelyn replied, "maybe I should've payed more attention to your practice with Impa, but that's not important." She handed Zelda a dye the exact color of her dark hair. "Not use it, the right way." Zelda was stunned as she finally realized what Evelyn meant to do._

" _No, I refuse to let you do this Evelyn. I'm not leaving you behind," Zelda said with firmness behind her voice. "I don't know what is out there, but I will not leave you to its clutches."_

" _Well, that's touching, but Zelda, I have no intention of letting you be captured. The only reason whoever infiltrated the castle hasn't found you yet is because we moved your quarters last week. Whoever it is will come, and we need to be ready for the possibility that one of us wont escape. So, I'll say it again, use the dye, NOW." Evelyn held out the bottle to Zelda. Link knocked on the door. "Enter," Evelyn said, and Link came into the room._

" _I will not use that dy…" In the middle of Zelda's retort, Evelyn hit her in the head, knocking her out cold. Link jaw almost dropped to the floor._

" _What the… What are you doing?!" Link said, exasperated._

" _Doing what must be done," Evelyn stated, pouring the dye onto Zelda's hair, making it dark as night. "I always wondered what it would be like to have blonde hair." At that moment Impa entered the room. She just stared for a moment, before asking, "What in the world did you do to Evelyn?"_

" _I'm Evelyn," Evelyn said. She gestured to Zelda, lying on the ground, "That's Zelda." Evelyn barely dodged the swift kick from Impa, that came almost immediately after her sentence. "Whoa! Whoa! Stop that Impa! I'm trying to help. She refused to use me as a decoy, and we didn't have any time left." Distant screams could be heard coming from servants._

 _Impa's looked as if she was going to rip Evelyn to pieces, and said "You insolent litt…"_

 _Evelyn interrupted, "Take Zelda and Leave, Impa. Time is of the essence." Then Evelyn calmly walked out into the hallway and toward the center of the castle, towards the distant screams of servants. Impa carried Zelda's unconscious body out of the room and Link followed. They escaped on horseback into the night._

Zelda simultaneously hated and thanked Evelyn for that sacrifice. Zelda hated that everyone pampered her. Why did everyone act as if _she_ was weak and needed their protection. It seemed as if everyone sacrificed for her, but she never got a chance to sacrifice for her own kingdom. Everyone acted like she was the center of the world, but she never felt as though she did anything important. Zelda felt tears in her eyes, and her breathing became more agitated and ragged. Her best friend may be dead or dying and Zelda was helpless, just as she always was. She was a Queen and had the Triforce of Wisdom, yet here she was, not able to do anything. Finally, her bubble of confidence popped, and she burst into tears. _I'm useless_ , she repeated to herself. _I'm useless, I'm useless_. She fell back onto the bed, her body still exhausted from the magic, and she fell asleep to the sounds of her own thoughts and tears: _I am nothing, and I will never be anything._

* * *

 **So, I'm sorry about not having this flashback earlier to explain the whole situation in chapter 1. It was supposed to be in the second chapter, but it never made it in. This chapter is almost twice the length of the previous two, sorry for not being consistent, but I just had so much to write about and I wanted to find a good ending point. I'm also sorry about Zelda being a crybaby, but I wanted to give my characters some depth and motivation. And now I'm sorry that I'm apologizing all the time, just the way I am. Please Leave a review whether good or bad. I really want to know how I'm doing. I hope you are enjoying my first ever fan fiction story.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda and all of its characters are owned by Nintendo, not by me.**

* * *

Link and Impa were walking towards the Great Deku Tree. Although Link was normally very talkative, he kept his head down, staring at the ground. Zelda's words and Evelyn's disappearance worried him. She could be anywhere by now, and it would take a miracle to find her. Breaking the silence, Impa asked, "Why are we going to the Great Deku Tree Link? You haven't said a word since we left Zelda."

"I plan to retrieve the Kokiri Emerald, the spiritual stone. If w- Until we find Evelyn, we don't know what we're up against, but whatever or whoever is in the castle, we will need the Master Sword." Impa's only response was a solemn nod. As Link and Impa traveled through the narrow pass, Link almost paused at the spot where a Duke Baba once grew. Sometimes it was hard for him to forget that Ganondorf's evil was gone from the world. Then he heard a familiar sound, and gasped as the Deku Baba popped out of the ground right before him. Impa quickly drew her sword and dispatched the plant. "What is the world is going on?" Link asked, "That Deku Baba disappeared years ago, when I defeated Ganon."

"We can only assume that whoever took the castle has resurrected at least some of Ganon's evil creatures," Impa replied.

"You don't suppose that Ganon himself could be back, do you?"

"No, there is no way that seal has been broken already. Ganon does not have that kind of power. This is something else."

As they saw the Great Deku Tree, both gasped. The young tree was covered in weird slime like monsters. They seemed to be causing him great pain. "Chu-Chus!" Link yelled as he ran towards the tree. Impa quickly followed and both started slicing through slimes with their swords. Colored goo flew everywhere, disappearing when the monster died. It took a while, but eventually all the multicolored slimes were dead, they had all disappeared into black smoke. After the fight, the only thing indicating there had been one was the two warriors panting and leaning on their swords. "Are you all right, Great Deku Tree?' Link aske in a worried voice. The Great Deku Tree was the closest thing he had to a father, and he had already seen it die once. He had no intention of seeing that happen again.

The Great Deku Tree coughed a few times and spoke, "I'm fine Link. I think I know why you're here." Before Link could speak he said, "You want the Kokiri Emerald, don't you?"

"Yes," Link responded, "I require the power of the master sword once again."

"I'm sorry, but the Kokiri Emerald is currently in the Forest Temple. Last time new of that place came up, it was inhabited by skull kids, those poor souls. Yet, I can only assume that it is not inhabited by Ganon's old minions, since those idiotic goo creatures just assailed me." Link sighed, _this isn't going to be as easy as I thought._

"Where is Saria?" Link asked, "I haven't seen her anywhere and I need her to lead me to the forest temple. Without her I might get lost in those woods."

The Great Deku Tree sighed deeply, saying, "I'm sorry Link, but Saria, along with all the other sages, was captured and brought to the castle, there was nothing I could do to stop them. My power is not as great as it once was." Link gasped. He had not been told of the sages capture during the breakout. Impa kept a cold and solemn look on her face, just like she always had

"How can you stay so calm Impa?" Link demanded, "The sages are gone!"

"I already knew," she said, "Evelyn told us as we broke her out. She said that the sages had been captured and were being executed or sacrificed. We didn't have time to locate them and break them out as well. I had to make sure Zelda was kept safe. Link jaw dropped to the ground and then his eyes flared with anger.

"You didn't tell me?! Each and every one of those sages are my friends and you didn't bother telling me they were in the castle? We could have saved them!" Link was yelling so loud it disrupted a flock of birds in a nearby tree

"I'm sorry. There was a lot going on and I forgot. Even if I had remembered to tell you I wouldn't have. As a bodyguard, I have to worry about the princesses safety, and _you_ are imperative to that safety. I can't let you run off on wild goose chases and getting yourself killed." Link's anger lessened as he saw the logic in her statement. Running off to free the sages without the master sword would only have gotten him killed.

Link bit his lip, saying, "Fine, but never conceal something that important from me again."

"I make no promises," Impa spoke. Then she turned to the Great Deku Tree who had been silent for the whole conversation, saying, "I have a question about one of our friends. Has a young Hylian woman been seen near the forest? Her appearance is similar to the Queen, except she would have black hair."

The Great Deku Tree seemed to think for a second before saying, "No, I have not heard of anybody else in or around the forest. I'm afraid I can be of no service to either of you today."

Link looked up at the Great Duke Tree and smiled, saying, "It's fine old friend. Thank you for all the information, but now we must depart. We have both a friend and a spiritual stone to find."

"Good-bye Link. Good-bye Impa. May the goddesses bless your travels."

As the Hylian swordsman and the Sheikah bodyguard left, they felled the Deku Baba again. "Goddesses, those things are annoying," Link said in annoyance, "they never stay dead."

"Couldn't you just dig up the roots?" Impa asked.

"That's crazy. That's too… That's too…"

"Sensible?" Impa offered, finishing his sentence.

"Oh, be quiet," Link retorted, and the conversation ended as quickly as it had begun.

Kokiri forest seemed filled with happiness. Birds were singing in the trees, deer could be seen bounding through the woods, and the sunlight filtered through the canopy of leaves, making the village look like something from a dream, yet there was a sadness that seemed to hide behind this mask of mirth. The Kokiri sat around, unmotivated. The loss of Saria had affected them deeply. She had always been there to help them, always cheerful. Meanwhile Zelda sat by the edge of the small river, skipping rocks. She had long ago run out of tears. She barely even looked up when she noticed Link and Impa walking towards her. "Zelda!" Link called out, "what are you doing?"

Zelda sighed deeply, "Nothing, nothing at all." Sensing her dour mood, Link tried to keep the conversation short.

"I'm going out to the forest temple," he said, "I don't know when I'll be back."

Zelda raised her eyebrows, "Why?"

"The Kokiri Emerald. It is hidden there. You and Impa can stay here. You'll be safe in the forest."

"No," Zelda replied, "I refuse to split up." She said it with such conviction that Link stayed silent for a moment.

"But, I can move faster alone Zelda, an-"

"So, I'm not good enough for you?"

"You know that's not what I meant Zelda."

"But I do-" Zelda started.

Impa interrupted her, "Zelda, stop being a child. But I do agree with her Link, splitting up would not be a good idea."

Link tried to protest: "But,-" Impa just held up her hand. Link sighed, saying, "Fine. We set out in an hour." Zelda smiled, and Link could almost hear her inward laughter. Impa sighed, _Why do I have to make all of the decisions? You'd think they'd have figured it out by now._

Zelda walked back to Links house, both satisfied with being able to finally contribute and fearful of what happened to Evelyn. She grabbed her rapier off the bedside table, changed into a shirt and pants, packed a bag with various adventuring supplies, and packed about 5 days' worth of provisions for herself. After she was done, Impa and Link did the same. Once all three of them were ready to go, they set off into the lost woods, eerily silent.

As they walked, the group was generally silent, not breaking the oppressive silence except for their breathing and the occasional cough. The silence created a growing anxiety in the group. They were always looking around, expecting something to be hiding behind every tree. Zelda's limbs ached, still tired from the teleport. She hadn't given her body enough time to rest. Soon enough taking a single step took concentration, but she didn't want to feel like a burden on Link or Impa. She had wanted to come along after all. It had only been about three hours of walking and the sun was barely started to drop in the sky. _It's going to be a long day_ , Zelda thought. Link tried leading the group totally from memory, but Zelda could see that he was uncertain. It had been years since he had navigated these woods. The group marched on through the featureless and uniform woods until the sun started to set. It had been about five hours, but to Zelda if seemed like an eternity. When Link finally called to stop for the night, Zelda leaned against a tree and slid to the ground. Her legs felt like jelly. "Are you all right my Queen?  
Impa asked, but Zelda was already asleep. Link and Impa just looked at each other and shrugged. The sun slowly set as Link and Impa set up camp. That night, while Link was deep in sleep, a voice came into his dreams. " _Link… Link… LINK."_

"What. Who is this?"

" _That matters not. I have little time. You must find Evelyn and save her. Her time is running short."_

"But I cannot. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm lost. I do not have Saria to lead me this time."

" _Saria may be helping in other ways. I will give you directions." Link instantly knew where to go, how to navigate the maze of the forest, "Now go Link, save her, as you saved this kingdom. Now I must go. Goodbye Link."_

"Wait!" But the voice was gone. Link called out many more times, but the voice never came back. Link's dreams drifted back to other things, and the night dragged on. The entire group slept deeply and peacefully.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading. I hoped you liked this chapter. Please leave a review, I really appreciate them, whether good or bad.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda and all of its characters are owned by Nintendo, not by me.**

Zelda, Impa, and Link awoke as the sun shined through the trees. The sun was up, and it was time for them to leave. Link spoke to no one about his dream. They made breakfast with only a few words of conversation. Zelda felt much better. Almost all her fatigue had disappeared. "Why is everyone so silent?" Zelda asked, "Impa has never been much for conversation Link, but you act like we don't exist."

"I'm just not used to traveling with others. And you might be surprised, but I'm just about as silent as a rock when I'm not with you." Zelda giggled briefly, picturing Link as a rock in her mind. "It's also a lot more pressure when you're leading others. I have to think and focus more, make sure you stay safe."

"Link, don't worry so much about me, that's Impa's job."

"Princes- My Queen, with all due respect, you can never be safe enough," Impa said. Zelda just sighed.

"See?"

"All right," Link said, rolling his eyes, "I'll try to be better company today."

After the group set out, they started talking, mostly just Link and Zelda, but Impa interjected every now and then. The silence of the forest didn't feel so ominous, and time passed quickly for the small party. Eventually, there was a change in the forest. The trees started to be more overgrown, there were vines everywhere, and a black fog started rolling in, reducing their vision. Link got out his sword and started hacking through the foliage. "Thank the goddesses that I remembered a second blade," Link said. Zelda smiled in response.

As the group got deeper into the woods, the plants seemed to get closer. They seemed to be surrounded by green; Even the ground was covered in weeds. "How can a place that is so green, be so ugly?" Zelda asked. The vines and trees were all gnarled, the weeds looked like a stampede of horses had run over some grass. The tree leaves were all different shapes and sizes. Nothing looked normal.

"I don't know," Impa replied, "But I don't like it. Are you sure you know where we're going Link?"

"Of course. After last night, I realized what I had been missing," Link replied. As if on cue, Link cut down a set of vines to reveal a huge open clearing. A large stone building sat in front of them. Huge vines and plants grew in various places, giving the stark, grey walls some color. What appeared to be old windows, were completely gone, no glass left. The building looked like it was centuries old, but amazingly it still looked sturdy. No part of the building appeared to be broken. It was as if some strange magic was preventing the building from being damaged. Zelda gasped in awe. Link threw his dull sword into his pack, useless for battle now, and took out another. "This is it," Link said, turning around, "ready to go in?"

Evelyn awoke, dazed. She was sitting against a wall in a pitch-black room. She wasn't bound or constrained in any ways and she felt strangely refreshed. Her hunger and thirst were gone, and she felt as if she had slept for days. _What if I have slept for days?,_ she thought to herself. She saw a pair of red eyes in the darkness. "He- Hello?" She asked. She was shaking in anxiety. She didn't often show it, but she had been genuinely scared for a week straight, and it was started to affect her. Torches around the room started lighting, temporarily blinding her. When she opened her eyes she saw a bunch of skull kids standing around her. It was a small room, and even with just the half a dozen skull kids before her it seemed a bit cramped. She realized that these creatures had saved her. She had been on the brink of dying, but they had saved her.

One of the skull kids started playing a tune on his flute, and the other five joined in. The tune was upbeat and it reminded Evelyn of the song Saria used to play. Suddenly they stopped, looking at Evelyn quizzically. She suddenly realized they expected her to join in. She started to whistle the tune, and the Skull kids joined in. Her whistling was too quiet to be heard, so she started singing the tune. Evelyn had always loved singing, and she lost herself in the music. She suddenly realized that the skull kids had stopped playing and she was singing on her own. It was nearly impossible to read their expressions. Were they excited? Happy? Sad?

Evelyn stood up, wondering what was going on. All the skull kids suddenly ran up to her pulling on her arms and dress, leading her down a hallway. They reached a huge room, filled with skull kids. When they saw her, they all started making excited chattering noises and hopping up and down. Evelyn wished so badly that she could communicate, if only she could figure out what they wanted. A loud noise, like a shout caused the entire room to calm down and part. One skull kid, who looked older and wiser than the others walked up to her. "Hello," it said in a high-pitched voice. It was hard to understand, and Evelyn could tell that it was straining for the person to speak in Hylian. She wasn't about to ask it to repeat itself.

"Hello," Evelyn replied, "Thank you for your help." She curtsied to the skull kid.

"You. Welcome," it spoke slowly. "Play. For. Us?" Evelyn realized that they wanted her to play an instrument, but she had none. Her harp was still at the castle, probably destroyed by now.

"Do you have a harp?" Evelyn spoke slowly, making motions like she was playing the harp, hoping they would understand. The skull kid looked confused for a moment, but he figured out what he was trying to say. He made some sort of communication with one of the nearby skull kids and the command echoed down the hall. About two minutes later, a rough wooden hand harp was place in Evelyn's hand. Evelyn tested out a few strings. It was roughly tuned but it would work. She racked her brain for a song to play. She decided on the Ballad of the Goddess, a song Zelda had taught to her. She started strumming the song and sang the sounds that Zelda had taught her. Evelyn's sang as loud as she could to fill the room with sound. After she played it the first time, a few skull kids joined in, playing the melody, and the third time around, it seemed like every person in the hall was playing. Evelyn stopped singing, since her voice was just drowned out. The tune echoed throughout the temple, reaching every ear that could hear.

Zelda, Link, and Impa had just reached the entrance to the temple, when they heard a faint melody. Zelda strained to remember which song it was. It sounded so familiar. Then it hit her. "That's the Ballad of the Goddess! Only Evelyn and I know that song. She must be in there somewhere!" Zelda was almost yelling in joy. Link smiled at her and the three ran inside to find their friend.

Suddenly, the music was interrupted by a multitude of voices bellowing. Evelyn saw an army of red boblikins run into the room and start attacking the skull kids. Evelyn reached for her sword and remembered that she had never gotten one. Evelyn was horrified. The skull kids were getting beaten mercilessly by the boblikins. The wooden clubs were taking them down one by one. The skull kids started to flee, but then she felt them all look at her and the skull kids turned around and started fighting. "NO! RUN!" Evelyn yelled, but her voice was drowned out. The skull kids were still losing, but they were charging the boblikins, trying to protect their new friend. Some of the skull kids tried to drag her away from the fight, but Evelyn broke from their grasp. _Oh goddesses help me,_ Evelyn said as she charged the boblikins.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda and all of its characters are owned by Nintendo, not me.**

Evelyn charged into the fray, forced into using her fists since she had no weapon. After she had defeated her first two boblikins, she grabbed their clubs, swinging them around like a madwoman. She was determined to protect he newfound friends and allies, these poor lost souls. She took out creature after creature, but a sea of red kept swarming into the room. There was almost no end in sight. The skull kids were retreating, hoping to escape the horrible monsters. Evelyn wanted to think about what it meant that Ganondorf's monsters were back, but she pushed the thoughts out of her head. She couldn't be distracted in a fight this important. She could feel the energy leaving her arms. He strikes and dodge became slower and slower as the fight dragged on.

She must have defeated hundreds of the small monsters, making them disappear into purple and black smoke, but there were hundreds more. She started retreating, realizing that this was a battle that could not be won. She would soon be overpowered. Almost all the skull kids were out of the room. _Only another minute_ , she thought. Then something else emerged from the far door. Four armored lizafolos leapt out of the hallway, jumping over their red companions. Evelyn was almost out of the door, but it was too late. One of the lizafolos lashed out its tongue, grabbing her right wrist. She tried beating the tongue away, but the lizafolos wouldn't budge. Another tongue lashed around her left leg. The boblikins stepped back, letting the lizafolos do all the work. Two more tongues tightened around her other limbs and they started pulling her back into the hall. She turned her head and saw some skull kids pausing and looking back at her. "Run!" Evelyn yelled, and the skull kids quickly scurried off. Evelyn eventually lost traction on the floor and she fell face-first onto the ground. Boblikins swarmed forward, binding her limbs. _Why aren't they finishing me off? Why aren't they killing me?_ Evelyn thought to herself. In about a minute coarse rope bound her ankles and wrists and a strip of leather was tied around her mouth as a gag. A boblikin bashed Evelyn on the head and she was drug away further into the temple.

Link, Impa, and Zelda rushed through the halls. The music had stopped, so they had nothing to lead them. They quickly solved any puzzles in their way and delved further into the temple. Suddenly, Zelda stopped, realizing something. Both of the others stopped and Link asked, "What's wrong Zelda?"

"On our way here you told me, that the Great Deku Tree said, that skull kids inhabited the temple, but I haven't seen a single one."

"It's a big place, maybe they live deeper in the temple."

"Link, from what you've said, we have almost explored the whole thing. There's not much space left for them to live in."

"It is troubling," Impa interjected.

"Well, there isn't really much we can do about it Zelda. I think we should just keep pressing on. We can deal with whatever comes along."

"Well the, let's kee-" At that moment, a bunch of skull kids stormed down the hall, rushing past the party. They passed by like lightning. There was only one straggler. It looked older than the others. When it saw the party, it jumped up and down excitedly. "Hello. I. am. Kira," The female skull kid spoke slowly in her high-pitched voice. "Please. Help. Friend." Kira started pulling on Zelda's arm and leading her down the hallway. _Friend? That must be Evelyn,_ Zelda thought. Link and Impa just gave each other confused looks, shrugged, and followed with their swords drawn.

The skull kid led them to the hall where Evelyn had been fighting and Zelda gasped. Skull kids lay everywhere. She couldn't tell whether they were unconscious or dead. Wooden clubs were strewn all over the ground. "Friend. Fight. Monsters," Kira said, "Friend. Captured."

"Evelyn did all this?" Zelda asked to no one in particular.

"I guess our fighting lessons really paid off," Link replied.

"But it wasn't enough," Impa stated, "now we need to find her, before something happens." There was only one way to go further into the temple and all three of them stared at it, mentally preparing themselves for whatever came ahead. Zelda took a drink of water from her canteen. "Kira, we can find your friend. You run along now. Go join your friends." Kira looked slightly confused, but eventually got the message and scampered off. All three of the heroes stepped into the far corridor with their weapons drawn.

A silence crept upon the temple as they made their way through the twisting tunnels. It put each of them on edge, expecting to see whatever monsters had captured Evelyn just around the corner. The corridors started to widen and get larger and larger, to reveal another room, larger than the last one the battle had taken place in. It was only light enough to see a few meters ahead and the party fanned out, slowly walking towards the impending darkness. A horde of red eyes suddenly shone through the darkness. Some mysterious force lit torches all around the room, revealing and army of boblikins.

"What in the worl-" Zelda started before she was interrupted by the battle cries of a thousand boblikins.

"Get behind me!" Link yelled. The group retreated to the entrance so they couldn't be surrounded. Impa swung her huge blade, taking out multiple of the weak monsters in a single hit, not even letting them get close enough to hurt her. Link made powerful strokes with his blade, blocking the clubs when they came at him. Monster after monster fell to his blade. Zelda gracefully struck with speed and precision, dodging incoming blows with grace. She thrusted with her rapier, stabbing another boblikin and the party took another step back. "When will this ever end?" Zelda said, taking down another of the pesky beasts. The boblikins were weak and only struck occasional glancing blows, but the fight was tiring them out. Zelda didn't have the fighting stamina Link did, and Link wasn't used to long, drawn out battles. Link caught a brief respite after killing two boblikins in one blow and quickly threw a bomb into the crowd, before blocking another club. "I don't know Princ- Queen Zelda. Just hang in there." Zelda could feel herself slowing down, and although they would never admit it, Impa and Link were as well. By the time the last boblikin fell to Link's blade, all three of them were exhausted and Zelda collapsed against the wall, breathing heavily. After taking a short break for water, Link said, pausing between every few words to take another breath, "We have to keep moving. We have no idea what they are going to do to Evelyn. We need to save her."

"If we press on," Impa said, "I must insist that the Princess stay here. We know the rest of the temple is empty of monsters, and I will not allow her to come with us in such a state." Impa sounded perfectly normal, as many years of Sheikah training had taught her to control her breathing.

"I, am perfectly… fine," Zelda said as she slowly got up, leaning against the wall.

"No, my Queen, you are not."

"I _will_ come with you. I can pull through, let me prove myself to you."

"Fine, your word is my command Zelda," Impa spoke with a bit of frustration in her voice. Impa knew that once the Queen had her mind set on something, she would stubbornly pursue it, and Zelda was determined to save Evelyn herself.

The group stood up and walked through the heavy room, still catching their breath. As they walked through the next hallway, Link recognized the markings on the wall. The boss room was coming up, where he had fought Phantom Ganondorf. "Get ready, the boss room is up ahead. With some of Ganon's monsters returning I wouldn't be surprised if his stronger ones have been revived as well." Link passed around a red potion to give all of them a small stamina boost before they entered the room.

Link pushed the heavy doors at the end of the hallway open with a loud _creak_. His eyes widened as he took in the scene. All the pictures on the walls were gone, but in the center of the room stood a gargantuan set of black armor. It must have been twenty times bigger than Link. It looked like a giant version of the guards at the castle except it had something that looked like a glass box in its chest, and inside of it lay a familiar Hylian, Evelyn.


End file.
